Emergency talks bid to end Limerick feud

Emergency talks were held today as garda reinforcements were ordered into Limerick to halt an escalating feud between rival criminal families.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell met Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne as an emergency response unit and armed officers were sent into the city to try to keep rival factions apart in the aftermath of the city’s latest killing.

Kieran Keane, 36, was gunned down in an execution-style murder just hours before two kidnapped brothers held captive by a rival faction were released.

Superintendent John Farrelly said: “The bottom line is to make sure we take control of the streets just in case there are any more flashpoint areas.

“Because the situation has changed and got more violent in the last 24 hours, it is necessary that we have to ensure some sort of control.”

He said the unit sent into Limerick this morning was the most highly trained the force had.

“They are in training all the time. They will be watching out in areas where there may be flashpoints and just ensuring that nothing happens of a more sinister nature than it already has.”

One of the areas under surveillance was Limerick’s courthouse, where people believed to be linked to feuding families were appearing today.